Use of rehabilitation funds

The devastating flooding has brought in its wake not just challenges but some good responses as well. Agriculture, including livestock, poultry and fishery; industries, medium size and small ones; and infrastructure, both economic and educational, have been laid in ruins. Almost proportionately, prospects for a huge financial undertaking to shore up the economy can be visualised.

Local donations to the PM's relief fund are rising. More importantly, grants, loans and contributions from external sources such as foreign donor countries, NGO headquarters, multilateral organisations like IMF, World Bank, IDB, ADB and UN agencies are expected to make for a sizeable total.

All of this conjures up the vision of a huge infusion of resources in addition to the allocations made to the various sectors in the budget, 2004-5.

Finance Minister Saifur Rahman emerging from a meeting with secretaries of several important ministries Thursday made this clear to newsmen: 'the on-going ADP projects and donor-funded projects will continue along with the post-flood rehabilitation programme'.

In other words, huge amounts of money will be spent in different sectors of the economy beyond the normal budgetary allocations earmarked for them. This, in all likelihood, is going to open the floodgates of corruption and malpractices unless we have dyked them reasonably well to minimise the pilferage. We suggest parliamentary bi-partisan committees be specifically formed and tasked to supervise the spending which could act as checks and balances against corruption on the one hand, and partisan spending on the other.

The finance minister seems to be seized of the risks of corruption inherent in the undertaking. He has asked the secretaries to stand guard over 'corruption and misuse of fuave been riddled with corruption and malpractice.